Monday, March 30, 2020

Environment Pollution and Mumbai Essay Example

Environment: Pollution and Mumbai Paper This paper presents the dynamics of environmental problems in Iambi city. An evolution concept is applied to study the present environmental status of Iambi. In order to study its dynamics, the entire process of environmental evolution is divided into four types biz. Poverty related environmental issues, industrialization- and arbitration-related environmental issues, rapid economic growth-related environmental issues and wealthy lifestyle-related environmental issues. Dynamics of suitable indicators for all the above issues over the economic development has been studied. Temporal representation of respective indicator for each type of the environmental problem presented the distribution of these types of environmental problems on a longitudinal scale. In the analysis it is found that, at present Iambi has prevalence to rapid economic development- related environmental problems. Overpopulated environmental issues show very little significance. Industrialization– and urban-related environmental issues coexist with rapid economic development-related environmental issues. This provides the necessary inputs to city planner so as to avoid various environmental costs that other cities have already experienced. Introduction Bombay, since independence, has been the center for development and financial activities of India. Minus. Yodel Nadir Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Vida Mark, Gorgon(E), 400 065 Iambi, India E- mail: [email protected] Mom Present address: S. Yodel Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 240 01 15 Yamaha, Gangway, Japan 1 actuating sector has been the major force in Bombay creating potential for employment, and that had resulted in migration of rural population. This influx has created an increased demand for sharing the limited public resources and infrastructure available in the island city. We will write a custom essay sample on Environment: Pollution and Mumbai specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Environment: Pollution and Mumbai specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Environment: Pollution and Mumbai specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer As the place became scarce the real estate value shot up driving the public to the suburbs. As a result, expansion of Greater Bombay in 1971 was almost entirely due to its suburbs’ groom. In 1 981 the city’s population of 3. 3 million was far outpaced by the suburb population of 5 million (MAPI 1998). With these trends intuiting Bombay city, in the post-independence period has been facing severe resource constraints. This growth has further exacerbated the city’s problems by overstraining its services in catering to the hordes of commuters, all heading each morning for south Bombay where the port, business offices and administrative offices are located. High population growth, inward migration and arbitration put stress on resources. Increasing economic activity and per capita income further stresses the resources and â€Å"common goods† (BOMBARD 1996). This phenomenon creates a wider scope for increased environmental concerns, which are multifaceted ND also cross-sector. For various social and administrative reasons, Bombay was renamed as Iambi during late 1 sass. At present Iambi is the largest metropolitan city in India with very distinct characteristics as presented in Table 1 . Environmental management concerns In the history of Bombay, there is not much note Of environmental concerns. Being an island, Bombay has high assimilation potential, which made this city less environmentally concerned (Kombi 1986). However, in light with the above-described features, post-independence era of Iambi witnessed numerous developments, both economically and environmentally. Due to abundant employment opportunities, migration had been so predominant and till 1971 migrants constituted Bombay has been renamed as Iambi during late sass Table 1 Socio-economic indicators of Iambi Indicator Population Literacy rate Employment Per capita income Education Transport Pattern 1 1. 9 million as per 2001 census 1. % of total Indian population and 12% of Maharajah’s State population 82. 4% (national average is 65. 38%) 3. 43 lakes (0. 343 million) main workers and two-third in service sectors Jobs in manufacturing sectors are on a declining trend Almost double to the average state per capita income which in turn is higher than the Indian average Services sector on the whole accounts for 64% of the income generated in Iambi 42 students per teacher at primary school level 35 students per teacher in secondary/higher secondary school level 2,145 local train services per day 2,275 million passengers per day by local trains 4. Million passengers per day by BEST (State road transport system), which is the highest among all metropolitan cities in India 25% of domestic and 38% of international passenger traffic in India 26% of domestic and 40% international cargo in India Air traffic Source: Census of India (2001), SEEMS (2002), http://www. Indicates. Com, http:// www. Bombardiers. Org the major population growth in Iambi. This has created a wider set of environmental problems biz. Lack of sanitation facilities, lack of drinking water, increased incidence of cholera. Rapid industrialization took place with most of the industrial clusters located in the vicinity of Chamber, which turned it into a â€Å"gas chamber with exceedingly high concentrations of air pollution (Pariah et al. 1995). Increased economic activity resulted in steep rise in transport demands and the vehicular stock. Increased stock of automobiles, most of them being used for decades together, created numerous environmental problems. Ambient air concentrations of Suspended Particulate Matter (CPM), Nitrogen Oxides (Knox) and other hydrocarbons have crossed the allowable limits creating health problems to the Iambi public (World Bank 1997). Increased incidence of tuberculosis was observed, and it is an indicator of the impacts of pollution on Iambi population (Pariah et al. 1995). Urban transport sector is known for contributing greenhouse gas (GOGH) to the atmosphere. With further economic development and the influence of esters â€Å"throw away†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ cultures, new environmental problems have started cropping up, and increased per capita generation of municipal solid waste (MS) is an example of such development. Lack of appropriate recycling system and infrastructure adds to the problem. Increased per capita energy consumption, particularly in an unsustainable way, creates much more stress on the environment. With the economic development of the city the set of environmental problems keeps changing. It is clear from the above description that the concerns of environmental management follow a trend: Poverty-related issue?rapid industrialization issues?rapid economic growth- related issues?wealthy lifestyle-related issues. As these issues are cross- sector in nature, conventional environmental management dealing with a particular type of problem fails to address the indirect impacts resulting from environmental issues. Therefore, it is essential to adopt a macro approach with an evolutionary perspective. Environmental evolution: concept and development In cities like Iambi, the arbitration process is coupled with industrialization and followed by rapid economic growth. As explained by ABA 2001), in this process, words like â€Å"change† or â€Å"growth† can describe the situation far more adequately than â€Å"equilibrium† which makes the dynamic viewpoint an inevitable feature in dealing with the urban environment and its management. The municipalities, which in most countries are the responsible bodies for environmental management, lack long-term understanding and planning of environment. They deal with the environment â€Å"as it comes to them†. With such an approach, decisions often tend to be shortsighted and lack broadness in scope. As many of the cities are undergoing rapid change owe, the environmentally benign future of these cities can still be shaped, at least partly. If these cities can learn from the successful experiences as well as failures of other cities, they might avoid paying some of the unnecessary environmental costs their fellow cities have paid (e. G. Heavy industrial pollution due to the use of primitive technologies). For this purpose, it is essential to have a systematic understanding of how urban environments change and what drives the change. So far, the dynamic feature of the urban environment is treated as a risk rather than an opportunity. It is often shadowed by the overwhelming complexity of the issue. Viewing this as an opportunity needs an improved conceptual and theoretical understanding about what kind of changes are taking place in urban environment, and how the process is driven. In various studies, ABA and co-workers (ABA and Muar 2000; ABA 2001, 2002) have explained the evolutionary viewpoint of the urban environmental change with empirical evidences from East Asian cities like Tokyo, Seoul, where the most rapid social, economic and environmental changes have taken place over the last several decades. The importance of introducing the temporal dimension and an ecological viewpoint in urban environmental studies was pointed out by Douglas (1988) in his study of Manchester City, England, in which he linked urban growth, physical change and human impact succession. In addition to the temporal dimension, ABA and Muar (2000) further emphasized the importance of viewing urban environmental change as an evolutionary’ process. Often environmental problems are cross-sector an d complex. Categorization of these issues into several types helps to reduce the complexity of the issue. This categorization loud be done based on various parameters like type of impacts, driving forces, etc. Taking into consideration these different driving forces and the spatial scale of the impacts of these problems, ABA and Muar (2000) categorized urban environmental problems into three types: poverty-related issues, rapid-growth and production-related issues and consumption or wealthy lifestyle-related issues. Based on the available literature and criteria used by other researchers (ABA and Muar 2000; Sweatshirts 1997; World Resources Institute 1997), environmental problems in Iambi are categorized into four groups biz. Poverty-related issues, rapid industrialization- and arbitration-related issues, rapid economic growth-related issues and wealthy lifestyle-related issues. This helps in better understanding of the dynamic process of change in a developing city like Iambi. Table 2 presents typical issues under each category and the major impacts associated and scale of impact. Behavioral patterns of typical issue Poverty-related issues of environmental management are prevalent when the economy is low. Lack of safe drinking water and sanitation resulting in health problems is a classical example of poverty-related environmental issues. Malnutrition results in increasing infant mortality rates (MIR). As the economy rises, income levels grow and it results in controlling these issues. This falling trend of poverty-related issues continue until the level reaches a significant low. This could be due to the fact that the growing income provides additional resources and capacity to improve public services. Macro-economic approach explains the environmental management and its behavior. When the economy is not strong, production-related activity receives the top priority leaving a wider scope for environment deterioration and resource depletion. After achieving a certain level of economic improvement the environment gets better due to the increasing affordability to take up pollution control measures and increased awareness and preference for cleaner environment among people. This pattern is often referred to as Environmental Junket Curve (EKE) (Hilton and Hank 1 998; World Bank 1992). Though it is not universally proved for all pollutants, EKE concept explains the behavior of most of the pollutants visit-a-visit economic development. The pattern of this inverted IS curve varies depending on the environmental regulations, tutorial changes in the economy, technological improvement, energy efficiency and trade. Category of consumption-related issues, rapid economic growth-related issues and wealthy lifestyle-related issues, does not improve with economy. They keep rising with the economy with a possible time lag between them. This trend is observed in cases like per capita MS generation, per capita carbon dioxide emissions, per capita energy consumption and other indicators (World bank 1992; LIND 2002). Reasons for this pattern could be?most of these problems are not of much significance for local governing bodies. As they are global in nature they could e easily externalities. Unlike the local pollution problems these issues fail to catch the public notice, as they are not directly harmful. Thus, there exists very little incentive for the municipal authorities to Types of urban environmental issues It is a convention to segregate the environmental-related problems into different segments for easy and efficient management of environment. Environmental problems are segmented into water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, solid waste problem, etc. Due to its easiness in handling and executing counter measure, most of the municipalities adopt this segmented tatter of environmental management. However, many environmental problems are not only cross-sector but also have external impacts which are not captured in the conventional approach of urban environmental management. This classification ceases the opportunity of synergies action between sectors involved in handling the environmental problems. For instance, focus on response strategies for air pollution control in Iambi could overlook its contribution to the GOGH emission problem. However, by focusing on transportation and related energy issue one can capture both the problems of air pollution and GOGH emissions. Better way to go about this cross-sector environmental problem is to identify the driving force or categorize them based on the type of impacts instead of sectors like air, water and solid waste. This approach provides an opportunity to capture the externalities (like health- and energy-related implications) of the environmental problems as well. This could encompass most of the direct and indirect indicators of environmental concern. Table 2 Categorization of environmental issues in Iambi Type Type I :Poverty-related issues Typical issues Low access to safe drinking water; intimidation of water bodies Causes Inadequate infrastructure; rapid population growth; income disparity Major impact Spatial extent of impacts Increased incidence of Local infant mortality; sanitation-related health impacts such as diarrhea, cholera Type II :illumination’s- Air pollution, water Rapid industrialization; Industrial pollution Local, regional and arbitration-related contamination; industrial low rates disasters like the one in issues solid waste; poor of emission treatment, lack of Opal, India; disturbance urban sanitation efficient management to the ecosystem; health robbers like tuberculosis due to air pollution Type Ill :Rapid economic CA emissions; Knox Increased mobility; Global warming; acid Local, regional growth-related issues emissions; noise pollution; more emphatic rains; heaps of garbage; municipal solid waste e conomic activity; less priority blockage of sewers on environment Type IV :Withy Overburdening of energy High consumption; rich lifestyle; Chemical ingredient and Regional, global lifestyle- related and natural resource; low incentives for improvement dioxin-caused issues dioxins abnormalities; overcorrection of resources Andre these issues of global importance while they have much more pressing issues to handle in local domain. The future trends of these issues are uncertain. The curves beyond a certain level of income could stabilize or even decline. But this trend could not be observed even from today’s richest states (ABA and Muar 2000). In spite of various government initiatives to change the consumption patterns, there is no evidence of any downward turn in these curves (COED 1998). For a poor economy like India, it is possible that the first two types of issues are prominent. However, in the case of Iambi, t is possible to notice both types Ill and IV, as the per capita income levels are much higher compared to the national average. Selection of indicators and analysis of trends For the analysis of the above-listed issues, their behavior with time and space, set of indicators are identified for each stage. These indicators are used to compare the characteristics of the current urban environmental situation. Indicators representing poverty-related environmental issues include population dynamics with detailed indicators such as total population and population growth rates; income levels with detailed indicators such as per pita income; nutrition, health and welfare issues with indicators such as MIR, death from infectious diseases, illiteracy ratio, per capita medical expenses; infrastructure and environmental pollution, with indicators such as access to drinkin g water and sanitation and incidence of diseases like cholera/ diarrhea. MIR was chosen as a representative indicator for this category of environmental problems. MIR is the result of malnutrition and is a good measure of the poverty in any city. There is multi-fold decrease in MIR, which is an indication of improved health in Iambi (Raw 1990). It is observed that Poverty-related issues are on a declining trend in Iambi. This is more substantiated by the fact that the Iambi water supply and sanitation status is improving over the last few decades (COM 2002; BOMBARD 1996). Indicators for the rapid industrialization and arbitration issues include the pattern of industrial growth in Iambi?number of units and employment generation history; GAP contribution of industrial sector; arbitration and employment patterns with indicators such as employment patterns, unemployment levels, arbitration ratio, migration levels; resource use and pollution with indicators such as electricity consumption by industries, CPM levels, SOX and Knox patterns, water contamination. Knox was chosen as a representative indicator for this category of environmental problems. Rapid economic growth phase had started with economic reforms in 1 993 and the pattern of many indicators had changed thereafter. This phenomenon is clearly observed in terms of foreign exchange earned (CAME 2001 http:// www. Indicates. Com). Other indicators for this stage of environmental problems are increase in vehicular stock, rise in energy demand, air pollution, GOGH emissions and electricity consumption. Electricity consumption was chosen as a representative indicator for this category of environmental problems. Electricity consumption in Iambi has increased substantially. Industry and commercial sectors have equal share in the electricity consumption. A steep rise from late 1 sass is observed (http:// www. Indicates. Com). This rise in consumption could be attributed to economic growth and increased per capita incomes as well as increased economic activity. Indicators for rich and wealthy lifestyle are not significant in Indian context. However, given the better economic status that Iambi enjoys among the Indian Intensity of the Problem (on normalized scale of 0-1) Fig. Illustration of different types of environmental problems spanned over economic growth in Iambi MIR MS KNOX Electricity 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 201 0 2020 Year cities, there are traces of these indicators showing significance in the case of Iambi. MS generation, electricity consumption, changes in petrol and gas reserves are the indicators of this category of issues. Percentage of growth in solid waste has increased considerably which is an indicator of increased institution patterns and rich lifestyle that Iambi public enjoys. MS management is one of those very serious problems that Iambi is facing at the moment (Sarnia 2004). MS was chosen as a representative indicator for this category of environmental problems. Therefore, the stage IV type issues are also identified and analyzed in Iambi. Though it is not possible to predict the future trends/behavior, it helps in assessing the â€Å"environmental status† of the city. Are closely clustered. This indicates that the three zones are coexisting in this city of high economic growth and promise. However, it is possible to identify which one is predominant and which one is in phasing out stage. Future trends of electricity consumption (stage Ill) and waste generation (stage IV) cannot be predicted. The projected values of MS clearly indicate the rising trend with time. A similar trend is observed with electricity also. As it can be seen from Fig. , Iambi at present stands at stage Ill facing more of rapid economic growth stage-related environmental issues. Poverty-related issues are not of major concern any more whereas there is a spillover from stage II, industrialization- and arbitration-related issues. Stage Ill issues and stage IV issues coexist in Iambi with both of them following rising trends. Acknowledgements This work is a part of urban Environment Project at ICES (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies), Japan. Author acknowledges with sincerity the suggestions given by Dry. Exhume ABA of AGES, Japan and research inputs and assistance provided by Mr.. Look Kumar and Ms. Joanna Piped at GUID, Iambi, India. Representative indicators from each stage of environmental problems biz. Poverty-related issues, industrialization- and arbitration-related issues, rapid economic growth-related issues and wealthy lifestyle-related issues are airmailed with respect to the corresponding maximum value so as to facilitate cross comparison on a longitudinal scale. In spite of the fact that Iambi presents one of the efficient public services in the country, poverty level is still high and overcrowding is causing lapses in the system. However, the significance of poverty-related environmental issue is not very high. The representative indicator under this category revealed a steep declining trend.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

The UK Conservative Government 1990-1997 and the UK Labour Government 1997-2002 Essay Example

The UK Conservative Government 1990 The UK Conservative Government 1990-1997 and the UK Labour Government 1997-2002 Essay The UK Conservative Government 1990-1997 and the UK Labour Government 1997-2002 Essay The Conservative Government of 1990 under John Major aimed to move urban politics in a new direction. The removal of Margaret Thatcher from office and the re-appointment of Michael Heseltine to the Department of the Environment signalled this change in direction. The policies of the 1980s were based on privatisation with respect to the redevelopment of deprived areas. The policies from the 1980s however received much criticism from the Audit Commission Report, as well as Conservative supporters alike. The Audit Commission had described Urban Support Programmes as a patchwork quilt of complexity and idiosyncrasy, and the economic decline, combined with changing patterns of economic growth led to poverty. During the 1990s however, the governments emphasis was placed on collaboration or local governance, which became more widespread. The need for a governmental change of view from the previous decade was realised in 1990 in the review of Action for Cities. The government called for a spirit of co-operation, of partnership between all of those involved in central and local government, including local businesses. The idea of partnerships between public and private sectors was introduced in May 1991. Much of the literature on the topic of urban regeneration policies is interested in the relationship between local authorities and businesses. The main reason behind this is the urban policy agenda established by the Conservatives in the early 1990s, which was principally about the pooling of resources between local government and businesses. The new Conservative Partys first urban initiative, City Challenge was set up in May 1991. This policy was designed by Michael Heseltine, and the emphasis was on partnership and competition. The government invited local authorities to bid and compete with each other for regeneration funds. City Challenge placed local authorities back at the centre of urban policy. In the first round of bidding, 21 authorities were invited to bid, of which 11 were successful. In the second, all 57 urban programme authorities were invited to bid, and 20 were successful. The City Challenge scheme had many critics who questioned the selection process. The policy had run for 18 months when the government announced in November 1992 that they planned to wind down the urban programme and City Challenge. In 1993, the Urban Programme was brought to an end in the 1993 reforms. The Urban Regeneration Agency was formed and brought about the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and English Partnerships (EP). EP was officially launched by the government in November 1993, and it brought together English Estates, Derelict Land Grant, and City Grant. It was designed to upgrade derelict land for redevelopment in partnership with local councils and the private sector. English Partnerships was given powers to override local authority planning restrictions, and used the funds to offer financial assistance as a means of gap funding for the areas deemed to be in greatest need. There was a lot of controversy over its role in the process of urban renewal. When the policy was launched, the government announced that there would be one senior regional director for each of the ten regional offices. This top-down implementation placed full control of the region with one senior officer, as oppose to the individual authorities being given more control as they were with the City Challenge policy. The SRB was launched in April 1994. It consisted of 20 existing programmes, which included City Challenge, and also brought about the integration of the regional offices of Whitehall. The budget they had to operate with was  £181million in 1994 and 1995, and  £ 220million in 1996 and 1997. The co-ordination of this policy was welcomed, but critics argued that instead of elected regional bodies, the government had increased central administrative powers. The SRB was considered to be the new flagship regeneration programme and consisted of three main strands: (i) partnership, (ii) integration of social and economic issues, and (iii) competition. Rounds 1 3 of the SRB were conducted under the Conservative Party, however the Labour Party was elected in the middle of round 4. The Labour Party in power (1997-2002): The Regional Development Agencies (RDA) Act was passed in 1998 and set out New Labours policy of delegating the task of urban regeneration to each specific region. The main purpose of the RDAs was to further economic development and the regeneration of the area in question. Other aims were to promote business efficiency, investment, competitiveness, and employment in the area, whilst also enhancing the development and application of skills relevant to employment in the area. The RDAs were officially founded in 1999 and eight were set up in each of the regions, and a ninth for London set up in 2000. The RDAs took over from English Partnerships in terms of the responsibility of regional development. The special functions of the RDAs include formulating a regional strategy in relation to their purpose, promoting regional regeneration, taking forward government competitiveness agenda in regions, and taking the lead on regional inward investment. Following consultation with regional partners, the RDAs presented the strategies to the government in October 1999, and in January 2000, the government responded by giving a broad welcome of the strategies. The governments response was to significantly increase the RDAs budgetary flexibility. New funding was brought together in a single cross-departmental budget by 2002-2003 of  £ 1. 7billion. Government Offices for the Regions were established in 1994, but under the Labour Government, were given an increasingly pivotal role at the heart of Government. The Government Offices (GOs) worked together with the Regional Co-ordinator Unit (RCU), which was established as the headquarters for the GO network in 2000, as a result of the Performance and Innovation Unit Report, Reaching out the role of central government at regional and local levels. Together, the GOs and RCU aimed to cut through bureaucracy and add value to delivery through its shared experience and best practice, bring together key stakeholders and local partners, and providing a high quality of service. This aim was to be provided by combining skills in the GOs at the local level, with the co-ordinating role of the RCU in influencing policy design and implementation in Whitehall. Regional Chambers (RCs) or as some are known, Regional Assemblies (RAs) form a partnership working between local authorities and regional partners. Each chamber has been formally recognised by the Government as being representative of the interests of the region in relation to the work of the regions RDA. Each RC is made up of 70% local authority members, and 30% from other sectors including industry, education, environment, NHS, and TUC. The RCs initial focus was primarily on the RDAs regional economic strategies, and they have also sought to build up effective working relationships with the RDAs, GOs and other regional interests and stakeholders. The Deputy Prime Minister announced a new role for EP in July 2002. The new role provided a fresh mandate and a clear strategy to support sustainable development and growth in England. As part of a mergence with the Commission for the New Towns, EP will work with the private sector, the Housing Corporation, and local authorities to help increase the amount of affordable housing. EP will aim to make best use of the nations supply of land by developing on brownfield land, and by using surplus land in the best way possible. EP will work closely with a range of partners in support of the RDAs regional strategies to try and achieve its targets. Another Labour policy to achieve urban regeneration is the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU). The NRU was set up to lead and oversee the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal, taking over this task from the Social Exclusion Unit in April 2001. The aim is to deliver economic prosperity, safe communities, high quality schools, decent housing, and better health to the poorest parts of the country. The overall aim is to bridge the gap between the poorest areas of Britain and the rest of the country. The NRU identified the 88 most deprived local authorities in the country and devised a best value programme, by which the Government are to invest a lot of money in improving public services in these areas. This strategy is being funded by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF), which is  £300million in 2002/3 and will be  £ 25million for 2004/5. Another branch of the NRU is the New Deal for Communities (NDC). The NDC works in a similar way to the NRU, but it places local people at the heart of it. Local people, community and voluntary organisations, public agencies, local authorities and business are encouraged to work in partnership to deliver significant change by turning local peoples aspirations into action. The strategy is targeted over the next 10 years, and aims to develop a local strategy to tackle social exclusion in order to create vibrant and sustainable communities. Comparison and contrast between Conservative and Labour policies: The main difference between the various policies on urban regeneration between Conservative and Labour Governments is the socio-economic factor. The Conservative Party continued the 1980s theme of economic development, albeit with more cohesion and co-ordination. From the outset, the emphasis was placed on partnerships between local authorities and businesses to regenerate economic development, which would in turn provide more employment and bring about social improvements. The competitiveness encouraged local authorities to form partnerships with businesses as it gave a greater possibility of receiving a grant from the City Challenge fund. When the Labour Party first came to power, they formed the RDAs and to begin with, placed the initial emphasis on continuing the economic development. Whereas the Conservative Party only produced a transparent policy solely to increase partnership and competition, whereby local authorities only receive funding based on how well they can submit an application, the Labour Partys policy tied in a lot more objectives. Promoting business efficiency, investment, employment, and developing skills relevant to employment in the area is a much wider policy and the various regions will have different specific policies relevant to each region and sub-region. When the Labour Government integrated the Government Offices with the Regional Co-ordinator Unit, they highlighted the objective to cut through bureaucracy, a total contrast to the Conservative Government. It was the Conservatives policy to increase the level of bureaucracy with the SRB. The increase in administrative powers at the top followed by delegation of funding is a form of top down and trickle down implementation, the opposite approach to that of the Labour Party. It was Labours policy to bring together key stakeholders and local partners via the GO, and a much wider contribution was created in the form of the Regional Chambers. The RC took a bottom up approach in its purist form. It incorporated people from all corners of industry, the market place, and services to form a mixed composition, and worked hand in hand with RDAs to bring together the needs for the whole region. With respect to English Partnerships, the way in which the two governments implemented their policies varied significantly. While the Conservative Party focused mainly on economic growth and employment, the Labour Party dealt more specifically with the housing needs and social problems faced in Britains deprived areas, as they did with the NRU strategy. The Conservatives focused on the development of brownfield sites as a means of generating jobs and providing large flagship projects, as oppose to the Labour policy of providing affordable housing and building new communities. In general the two Governments used similar methods of integration of funds and resources as a means of generating the funding for urban regeneration. The amount of money invested in regeneration by the Labour Government was far greater than that of the Conservative Party and the programmes that the funds were invested in were different to. In conclusion, the Government of 1990-1997 took an economic viewpoint whereas the 1997-2002 Government placed their regeneration policies closer to home with social based policies.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Obligations to Future Generations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Obligations to Future Generations - Essay Example This is not to suggest that the conveniences and luxury are evenly distributed around the globe or even within nations and communities. There is a vast difference between the wealth of nations in the developing world and that of a superpower such as the United States or the European Union. What is undeniable is that all of humanity have benefited directly or indirectly through improvements in transportation and technology. The advancements in technology are truly marvelous, but they are not without drawbacks. There is a real cost attached to every advancement made in transportation and technology over the past two centuries (Lash, Szerszynski and Wynne, 1996). Finite resources are often used for raw materials that construct the technology or provide fuel for the machine energy. The consumption of these finite resources raises several sets of related ethical questions. Economists and economic geographers often examine questions of consumption, distribution and utilization. These acade mics attempt to explain why some nations are poor while others are wealthy. The answer often has access and control over finite resources at its heart. While understanding and examining the ethical considerations of unequal distribution and utilization of finite natural resources is a valid topic, it is beyond the scope of this paper. Consumption by the current and prior generation and the implications for future generations is the concern for this paper. Ethical use of natural resources now can lead to a brighter future, full of opportunity, for the generations of the future. Unethical behavior may doom future generations to a less prosperous and comfortable existence than we currently enjoy. The ethical choices that need to be made should consider effects on generations to come instead of just immediate gains in productivity, convenience and technological advance. One example of how difficult it can be to act ethically when making decisions concerning environmental and industrial projects can be seen in the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The Nile River has experienced seasonal flooding for thousands of years. Monsoon induced rainy seasons at the headwaters result in flooding in Upper and Lower Egypt. In ancient times, these seasonal floods marked the seasons in Egypt. The floods were beneficial in that they provided a layer of fresh silt for farmers to utilize each year while providing much needed irrigation water in Egypt’s arid climate. There was no need for fertilizer because the soil never had the chance to be depleted of essential nutrients. The culture of the ancient Egyptians was closely tied to the flooding of the Nile. They were able to establish a civilization that brought us splendors such as the temple at Karnack and the Pyramids at Giza. In the 1950’s the Egyptian government determined that the seasonal flooding of the Nile was detrimental to Egypt’s quest for modernization. Many Egyptians were still farming small plots that were irrigated using simple machines and techniques that had not changed for millennia. The modernization of the state of Egypt required modern infrastructure and modern power. Plans were made to place a dam across the Nile River that would provide a vast amount of hydroelectricity for the Egyptian people and modern Egyptian industries. In addition to this, the natural flooding of the river would be replaced by an

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

3 QUESTIONS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE and deviance Coursework - 1

3 QUESTIONS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE and deviance - Coursework Example Ermann and Lundman (1982) also offer some suggestions on how to reduce occurrences of corporate deviance, such as â€Å"changes in corporate chartering, the protection of whistleblowers, and the punishment of executives involved in corporate criminality.† All these propositions must be taken together and combined with greater vigilance from the public. This includes ensuring that corporate wrongdoers know that their actions will not go unpunished. Yes, I think there are common threads apparent in the four articles in the book by Thio, Calhoun and Conyers (2008.) One clear apparent commonality is that it demonstrates that human beings who are victims of violence do not always react to violence in the way that other people might think to be commonsensical. Instead of automatic resisting or abhorrence of the abuser, we see a complex mix of pity, self-blame, guilt, feelings of helplessness, and this is true for mothers who are victims of their children’s violence (Jackson, 98), stalkers from previous relationships (Dunn, 94) and battered wives (Bates, 89). This is also true for victims of exclusion who then found themselves as sexual molesters (Lawson, 108.) Also, these articles demonstrate that motivations for committing crimes are more complicated that we think and have psychological motivations. Akers and Sellers (2004) described psychological theory as one wherein the understanding of crime can be traced back to an und erlying personality or psychological disorder. 3. Are there identifiers visible that would indicate potential self-destructive deviance? If so, what are they and what can be done once observed? If not, what can be done to attempt to identify indicators of future self-destructive behaviour? Yes, the research in the field of self-destructive deviance have shown some possible indicators of suicidal tendencies, although the research is also quick to point out that

Monday, January 27, 2020

Lg Group Developing Tomorrows Global Leaders Management Essay

Lg Group Developing Tomorrows Global Leaders Management Essay Based on the basic management philosophy of: Competition from a global perspective Pursuit of best value for customer, employees and shareholders Become the worlds best business group through management by principle And contribute to social development as a good corporate citizen, Bon Moo Koo as a chairman of the LG Group, one of the three largest Korean chaebols, announced LEAP 2005 as vision of the future. It has a goal of increasing revenue to US$380 billion by 2005 with 50% coming from international sales. Leap 2005 centered on employees and this new vision would lead LG to develop the most rewarding workplace for employees. Mr. Y.K. Kim as the head of the LG Human Resource (HR) team was charged with the task of identifying and developing high potential individual and the global leaders that LG would need in the future. He worked closely with Dr. Michael Lee, Managing director of LG Academy (LGA). They estimated that LG would need approximately 1,400 new global leaders by 2005 with about half would be Korean and the rest would be non-Korean. By 1987, LG had businesses and industries in chemicals, communications, energy, electronics, finance, insurance, machinery, metals, sports and trade. Even though LG was strong in Korea, it was not an international technology or quality leader in any of its business segments, especially relative to world-class foreign competitors. A new corporate identity program was launched in 1995, Lucky-Goldstar Group officially changed its name to the LG Group. The logo was designed to symbolize five key concepts: The world, The Future, Youth, Humans and Technology. Top management and HR team needed to create global working environments that include both Korean and non-Korean leaders in order to achieve the objectives of Leap 2005. Strategic analysis using 7s framework Strategy: Low cost strategy (1947 1987) Focused on competing through low cost manufacturing but also strongly emphasized high production volumes Under pricing competitors with products of acceptable, although not superior, quality It established Lucky-Goldstar brand as a low cost and acceptable quality products manufacturer Value strategy (1987 1995) Korean consumers were increasingly aware of and demanding higher quality products because of the standard of living increased the ability to afford higher quality products and services Korean government began to relax trade barriers that made it easier for foreign companies to compete with LG in Korea The cost competitiveness of Korean began to slip Strategic orientation of LEAP 2005 Focused on strategic markets that expected with economic growth and size, also the extent of business opportunity in that market Technological revolution through innovation to be produced faster or more cost efficiently Investment for the greatest possible return Customer satisfaction as a key measure of success Structure: Centralized decision making and a top-down management process In 1987, LGs various affiliated companies were divided into 21Cultural Units consists of multiple Strategic Business Unit (SBUs) Systems: Departments were separated and sequentially handing off projects from product research to product design to engineering to manufacturing to marketing to sales Managers had to develop a new perspective on time based competition thus speed had to be a central value that permeated the groups culture Shared Values: Focused on valuing employees and contributing to social development through good corporate citizenship In 1987, focused on creating customer value Valuable components from old culture: stability, harmony and respect Established and reinforce four new cultural elements: challenge, speed, simplicity and boundarylessness Style: In 1980s, the new management approach management by self-control for greater decision making autonomy Cultural value of respect, translated into a top down management style and emphasis on hierarchy Leap 2005 required LG to change course to a global setting, leadership development emerged as one of the biggest challenges Staff: Managers focused on producing high volumes and getting per unit as low as possible rather than finding out what customer wanted, developing high quality products or expanding marketing capabilities. SBU heads were given full profit and loss responsibility for their units Within SBUs, middle managers were charged with reviewing and reengineering business processes to ensure efficiency and effectiveness Cultural Unit presidents focused on integration and coordination across SBUs Need more global leaders because LG had a domestic orientation in the past included both Korean and non-Korean People from different disciplines and geographies increasingly needed to work together to analyze problems and figure out solutions Skills: Many managers were lack experience with decision autonomy Need hundred of world class managers to achieve its target with more sophisticated knowledge in finance Recommendations: Characteristics of the human organization that would help LG achieve Chairman Koos LEAP2005 vision of the future First, HR should be held responsible for defining an organizational structure. It should identify the model of the companys way of doing business. The well known 7s framework distinguishes seven components in a companys architecture. LG Human resources Team should also used a change model to guide a transformation process at the company began by asking Who, Why, What and How. This model helps an organization identify the key success factors for change and assess the organizations strengths and weaknesses regarding each factor. As change agent, HR professionals do not themselves execute change, but they make sure that it is carried out. The hardest and most important challenge facing LG in that era was changing their culture. In helping to bring about a new culture, HR must follow a four steps process: It must define and clarify the concept of culture change It must articulate why culture change is central to business success It must define a process for assessing the current culture and the desired new culture, as well as for measuring the gap between the two It must identify alternative approaches to creating culture change HR strategies, policies, programs or practices translating the Chairmans vision into reality Key needed capabilities of LGs future global leaders Managers had to change their mindset from flawlessly executing orders to determining strategic direction Managers are required to have a clear idea of what customer needs, values and preferences World class managers that have capabilities for success and growth strategies LG needed a cadre of managers with more sophisticated knowledge of finance To challenge and think differently and to come up with breakthrough innovations Globalization: they must be more literate in the ways of international customers, commerce, and competition than ever before therefore LG should increase their ability to learn and collaborate and to manage diversity, complexity and ambiguity. Profitability through growth: they must also become more focus, more in touch with the fast changing and disparate needs of their customers. Technology: the challenge for managers is to make sense and good use of what technology offers. They will need to figure out how to make technology a viable, productive part of the work setting. Intellectual Capital: The challenge for organizations is making sure they have the capability to find, assimilate, develop, compensate and retain such talented individuals. Change, change and more change: LG must be able to learn rapidly and continuosly, innovate ceaselessly, and take on new strategic imperatives faster and more comfortably How to identify, attract, select and hire, train and develop, motivate, appraise and reward to perform at peak level, and retain the global leaders with the needed competencies and capabilities? The establishment of a development strategy is an important first step in the recruiting process. The second is achieving a fit between it and the rewards that an organization offers. A good fit must exist in in order to attract and motivate effective performance. The issue that needs to be considered when recruiting individuals relates to their motivation to perform. Attracting and recruiting the right talent is a critical part of managing human capital and an integral element of the designing process in organizations. Companies are starting to evaluate their employees not only by objectives but also by the competencies they develop. One possible procedure is what is known as the balanced scorecard. Under this procedure indices of competencies are added to indices of results, and a weighted average is calculated to obtain a final index, which tends to be tied to variable pay. Every company must decide what competencies it needs to develop in its managers in order to achieve its specific goals. The competency profile it chooses is a clear and precise expression of the culture it wants to promote, and can therefore be used as a tool for cultural change. Core competence of the corporation Collective learning in the organization, especially how to coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technologies Harmonizing streams of technology, organizing work, and delivering value Complex harmonization of individual technologies and production skills Could the team take the same approach with the Korean and non-Korean managers? Yes, as long as managers have some strategic competency as follows: business vision, problem solving, resources management, customer orientation, effective networking and negotiation. And also leadership capacity with following basic competencies: communication, organization, empathy, delegation, coaching and teamwork. Questions: What do you consider as the desired characteristics of the human organization that would help LG achieve Chairman Koos LEAP2005 vision of the future? If you were a member of Mr. Y.K Kims LG Human Resources Team, what HR strategies, policies, programs or practices would you recommend to translate the Chairmans vision into reality? What were the key needed capabilities of LGs future global leaders? How would you identify, attract, select and hire, train and develop, motivate, appraise and reward to perform at peak level, and retain the global leaders with the needed competencies and capabilities? Could the team take the same approach with the Korean and non-Korean managers?

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Birth Order and Happiness Study Essay

In this study, a stratified and random sample of 88 subjects, from three different sections of Provo and Orem, Utah, were given surveys. The selected family income was below the median for family income in one section selected. In the second selection, family income was at the states median and for the third selection family income was above the median. Within each of these sections, families were selected at random and contacted by telephone. Those who decided to participate were invited to the Financial Counseling Clinic at Bringham young and then asked to complete the assessment instruments. Only those subjects who came from families with four or more children were included in the study in order to provide for an analysis of the birth order variables. The subjects in the study consisted of 4 first born males and 8 first born females, 11 second-born males and 8 second born females, 24 middle born males and 20 middle born females, and 5 last born males and 8 last born females. The majority of these subjects were between 25 and 45 years of age. As stated before, each subject was administered the assessment instruments t Brigham Young University. One of the questions on the assessment, which was seen as the focus of the report, asked the subjects to compare themselves to the perceived happiness levels of their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters on the items of health, current marriage, current family, extended family, in-laws, friends, religion, financial security, and life in general. For these questions a seven point scale was used with one being the low score, seven the high, and the midpoint of four indicating that their perceived happiness was the same. Since there was no other literature that compared one’s happiness with the perceived happiness of one’s family members this study added a great deal to the non-existent body of knowledge. The results of the study showed that last born males scored consistently lower than all other male birth order, except for the â€Å"in-laws† area. Last borns scored lowest and separated themselves out the most from the other male birth orders in areas of â€Å"financial security,† â€Å"employment,† and â€Å"life in general. † Results showed that first born males scored higher than all other male birth orders on five of the items. As for the women, last borns scored lower on every subject except for one. In addition to this, very different from men, first born females scored consistently lower than both second born and middle born females. One of the most important things taken from this study is the similar pattern of both male and female last borns. Both scored lower than any of the other same-sex birth orders on the almost all of the happiness scales. This finding shows that last born male and females are typically unhappier than their firstborn, second born, or middle born siblings. The group contributed these findings to clinical observations done that stated last borns tend to be pampered and spoiled. They have been conditioned to people protecting, dominating, and giving them goods and services that require little effort on the part of the last born. This in turn makes it easy for last borns to grow up as adults who think people will continue to do this for them future. When the eventually become adults, they eventually face the reality that most other people will not pamper and they then experience cognitive dissonance, causing them to be last happy than their sibling. In addition to this, the pampering could potentially have detracted from their ability and learn to deal with problems of life and this could contribute to their relative unhappiness. A second study dealing with birth order and personality can also be used to predict the possible outcomes as well. Empirical Studies Indicating Significant Birth-Order-Related Personality Differences provided a summary of empirical support relating birth order to personality characteristics. This study focused on indentifying other studies that contained statistically significant results between personality differences and birth-order typologies and reported descriptive data in terms of variables that differ according to birth order. This research done by Eckstein focused primarily on articles dating from 1960 to 1999. All of the articles reported statistically significant levels at or beyond the . 05 level. Consistent with other studies that were based on Adlerian theory, empirical birth-order was grouped into the following four major categories: oldest, middle, youngest, and single. Eckstein then goes on to present a table showing the common characteristics identified for each of the four types and identifying articles that indicated each characteristic. For the oldest child, or first borns, according to Eckstein’s findings, at least two researchers attributed each of 26 different characteristics to these individuals. The six most frequently appearing attributes were highest achieving, highest IQ, greatest academic success, highest motivation and need for achievement, overrepresented among learned groups, and most affiliative under stress. All of these personality attributes can be used to relate to the findings from the first study, Birth Order and Happiness: A Preliminary Study by G. Hugh Allred & Bernard E. Poduska. The first borns of each family likely have higher levels of satisfaction due to these similar personality attributes. The majority of those individuals who are highest achieving usually are those who are most satisfied with their lives. This could be one of the reasons that the first borns scored the highest on the majority of question in the study conducted by Allred and Poduska. At least two researchers attributed each of 6 different characteristics to the middle child. The three attributed that appeared most frequently were fewest problems acting out, sociable, and greatest feeling of not belonging. For the youngest at least two researchers attributed each of 14 different characteristics to those who were the youngest child. The four most frequently appearing attributes for the youngest child or last born were; greatest overrepresentation of psychiatric disorders if from a small family, empathetic, helplessness and tendency toward alcoholism. The fact that both helplessness and a tendency toward alcoholism are two of the four most frequently appearing attributes helps relate to the first study on birth order and happiness conducted by Allred and Poduska. The fact that those born last are seen as helpless could be a direct effect of the fact that they were pampered and overprotected for the majority of their lives. This would then cause them to feel helpless in their later years when they are on their own in life without their family to pamper and always protect them. This feeling could then be used when explaining why those individuals who were last borns scored lowest on the majority of the questions asked in the study dealing with birth order and happiness by Allred and Poduska. Using the knowledge learned from these two research studies there will be two hypotheses used when conducting the study on the relationship between birth order and life satisfaction. The first hypothesis states that last born individuals will have the lowest levels of happiness on average. The second hypothesis states that those individuals who are not last borns will have higher levels of happiness on average. Proving whether or not these hypotheses are true will tell us a great deal about the relationship between birth order and life satisfaction and will help settle the argument on whether or not birth order has an effect on one’s life. III. Method: A random, convenience sample of 30 subjects was used during this study. Subjects were from various states on the East Coast and came from all different backgrounds. The subject’s ages ranged from 17-50 years of age and the majority of them were college students living on campus at Bryant University. Only those individuals with siblings were sampled and those without siblings did not receive the assessment. The rights of each subjected were protected. Prior to their participation in the assessment each subject was informed about the purpose of the study. These subjects were then told that in addition to their rights being protected, the privacy and confidentiality of the assessment will be strictly maintained at all times. The results of each assessment were shown to no one during the study besides those conducting the research and will not be used by any other researchers in the future. Throughout the entire study all ethical guidelines were followed. The results of each assessment were not tampered with or used against the respondent. All assessments were completed in the Bryant University library, but before being allowed to complete the assessment, each randomly picked subject was asked by the research whether or not they had siblings. Subjects who answered â€Å"no† were not given the assessment and able to go on their way. Subjects who answered â€Å"yes† to this question were then asked if they would like to participate in a research study on the relationship between birth order and happiness. A statement on privacy rights was then read to each subject by the researcher to make sure they knew that results of their assessment would be confidential. Once this was understood, the subjects were given the assessment. The subjects were free to complete the survey on their own and had as much time as needed to fill out the assessment. Once finished their assessments, each subject handed their survey to the researcher and was thanked for their participation in the study. Once 30 assessments were collected the scores of each assessment was tallied up and the results were recorded. The survey used was Life Satisfaction Index A survey from Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes. This index consisted of 20 agree or disagree items that correlated highly with life satisfaction/happiness. Each response received zero or one points depending upon whether or not the response matched the response marked in parenthesis given by the book. For example: One question asked â€Å"As I grow older, things seem better than I thought they would be†. For this question the response marked in parentheses was â€Å"Agree† and those who responded â€Å"Agree† received one point and those who responded â€Å"Disagree† received none. Scores on this assessment could vary from 0 (lowest faction) to 20 (highest satisfaction) and helped show the life satisfaction of each respondent. In addition to the 20 agree or disagree questions, there was one multiple choice questioned used at the end of the survey. This question asked the respondent whether or not they were the: first born, second born, second born (last born), third born (middle), third born last, or fourth born (last) in their family. This question helped categorize the results of each respondent. The study has two independent variables and one dependent variable. The independent variables are gender and both order. The dependent variable is levels of happiness. The design of this study was a correlation design and there was no manipulation of either independent variable throughout the duration of the study. IV. Results: Figure 1: As shown in figure 1, first born males had the highest average life satisfaction score at 14. 89. This was more than one full point higher than the 13. 75 scored by those individuals who were third born middle children. Second born middle children scored a 13. 7 on average which was extremely close to those third born middle children. Figure 1, also shows that the bottom three lowest scores all belong to those who were last in their family’s birth order. Second born last borns scored a 12. 25 on average, fourth born last borns an 11. 67, and second born last borns had the lowest average life satisfaction index scores at 11. 50. All together, last borns received a mean score of 11. 83 on the life satisfaction i ndex which is almost two points lower than those who were middle borns and a full 3 points lower than those who were first borns. Breaking down the results for women we once again see that first borns had the highest average score on the life satisfaction index. Second born middle were one point behind at 14, and right behind them was third born middle at 13. 5. The average score of middle born children was 13. 8. Once again, the lowest average scores belonged to those who were last borns. Those individuals who were the third born last borns had the lowest score of 11. 5, followed by fourth born last at 12, and second born last at 12. 5. All together, the last borns scored a 12 on average when taking the life satisfaction index.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Billy Joel

Billy Joel is a well known musician who has sold millions of albums across the world. Billy Joel has also won multiple grammys and several other awards. He has worked with many other artists and is affectionately known as â€Å"The Piano Man.† Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949. He was born as William Martin Joel in Bronx, New York. He grew up in Levittown, New York. He had two siblings a sister named Judith, and his half-brother Alexander Joel. He started his career at a very early stage in his life. At the age of four he began taking piano lessons. He took lessons on piano until he was sixteen. He was in three bands before he could even drive and he was a veteran of all of them. Billy Joel decided to start his music career after watching a famous band called â€Å"The Beatles† on The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1971 he came out with his first album after dropping out of high school to pursue his career in music. The solo album was called â€Å"Cold Spring Harbor.† Billy Joel then decided to move to Los Angeles. Soon after he job a job as a lounge pianist. Billy Joel married his first wife Elizabeth Weber Small in 1973. They had been partners for years before they married. In 1982 they separated from each other and both moved on. He then went on to marry famous supermodel named Christie Brinkley. They then had a daughter named Alexa Ray on December 29, 1985. He then split from Christie Brinkley in 1993 and then met and married television star and journalist Katie Lee. The two divorced after being married for fives years. Billy Joel then went on to meet his current wife Alexis Roderick. They then married in 2015, and went on to have a baby named Della Rose. She was born on August 12, 2015. Billy Joel sold over 150 million successful albums and has won multiple awards. Throughout his career his singles hit the top charts almost every time. His singles hit the Top 40 thirty-three times through the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's. He received a Grammy Legend Award in 1990 and a Billboard Century Award in 1994 for his outstanding music. Later in Billy Joel's career he suffered from an alcohol addiction and was continuously in rehab. He then recovered going on to make more music throughout the early 2000's. Joel then released â€Å"All My Life† in 2007. The single was his first in thirteen years with original lyrics. Billy Joel performed multiple times at Madison Square Garden and broke records, selling out his concerts monthly. Billy Joel is one of successful artists of all time topping the charts numbers of time throughout the years. He has won several awards and sold out many shows at popular venues such as Madison Square Garden. Billy Joel has continued to perform and tour throughout the world and break records.